As air quality in Bangkok and the vicinity continues to exceed safety levels, people have begun to change their lifestyles while the government mulls several policy changes.
But something can't be changed. Come rain or shine, and even hazardous air pollution, hundreds of thousands of Prathom 6, Mathayom 3 and Mathayom 6 students in Bangkok yesterday had to sit the Ordinary National Educational Test (O-Net) examinations. Many students wore facemasks to get to the venues, and some even wore them to take the test itself.
This scene (of students wearing facemasks to sit their O-Net exams) reflects how Thai education enshrines the idea of testing pupils at all cost.
Thai students have to deal with a range of exams such as O-Net, GAT/PAT, the national core subject examinations and TCAS exams.
"You might be shocked to know that on average one student now has to take 6-7 exams to be able to move on to higher education. We're just putting too much stress on students,'' said Sompong Jitradub, an education expert at Chulalongkorn University.
Things are different in Finland, a country renowned for the quality of its education.
"In Finland, there are no standardised tests. All children are graded on an individual basis according to a scheme set by their teacher. They are not in competition," Mr Sompong told the Bangkok Post.
Primary students in Finland spend only 626 hours a year in class, much less than the 1,200 hours a year that Thai students are behind their desks. However, their scores in international tests are better.
Finnish schools also allow students to spend more time outside the classroom in unstructured outdoor play, where they can use and nurture their imagination as well as improve their leadership and collaboration skills.
Thailand has recently been pouring money into trying to improve its education system.
Thai Ministry of Education received the largest slice of the most recent round of government spending with 510 billion baht (17.6% of the total government budget).
However, between 1970 and 2014, on average, Finland devoted 5% of its GDP to education, while Thailand managed around 3%.
But the secret to Finnish educational excellence goes beyond spending.
Over a century ago, the government decided that education would form the cornerstone of the nation's development plans.
It is a policy that has been observed by successive governments for over a century.
"The Finns pride themselves on an educational system that offers equal opportunities for all," Sanni Grahn-Laasonen, the country's education minister, told the Bangkok Post in Helsinki recently.
The difference between high and low performing schools in Finland is 5%. Education is fully-subsidised and students are served full meals.
EDUCATION FOR ALL
"Finland has become a nation that truly fosters lifelong learning," says Kristi Lonka, Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Helsinki.
The education system there makes it is easy for adults or even senior citizens to return to education.
One such returnee is Inka Godenhjelm, 25, who quit school in grade 9 to work as a chef in a restaurant. Now, she plans to switch her career to furniture and go back to school to acquire a new set of skills.
"It's normal for adults to come and study at these institutions. For example, when you want to change career and need some skills and expertise," said Ms Godenhjelm, who is taking carpentry classes at Omnia Vocational College in Espoo.
Omnia provides education for 8,300 students annually, many of whom are adults looking to augment their skills.
FINNISH PEDAGOGUE
Another ingredient to the Scandinavian country's success is the standard of its teaching.
As Thai teachers struggle to make ends meet, being a teacher in Finland is both highly prestigious and financially rewarding, even by European standards.
Teachers in Finland earn an average annual starting salary of €30,000 which is higher than the regional average.
Gaining entry to the profession is highly competitive. Graduates need to enter a highly selective process to apply for a place in the country's teacher training programme. Then, would-be-teachers need to take a five-year master's degree in connection with teaching and education.
Teachers in Finland are given a high degree of autonomy in how they conduct their classes.
"You have the freedom to decide what will attract children and make learning fun so that they will be engaged and make the most out of learning," says Eeva de Carvalho, a Finnish language and science teacher at Vesala Comprehensive School.
However, despite being recognised for their hard work both in their own communities and within the global teaching community, Ms De Carvalho admits some of her colleagues can suffer from their high workload.
"Our education system is generous enough to let burnt-out teachers take leave, recharge and come back when they are ready," she said.
MULTIDISCIPLINARY LEARNING
Finland's education system eschews the rote learning style which Thailand still clings to.
The country embraces what it calls "Multidisciplinary Learning", with the aim of transcending subject boundaries in order to make learning fluid, fun and interesting.
An example of this is the natural science class at Vesala Comprehensive School for students aged 7-15.
In one module, eighth-grade students are encouraged to decide how they want to learn the subject.
This year they decided to create plays based on the achievements of medieval scientists in Finland.
Leo Alanko, a 14-year-old student who performed in the play, said he learned new things, not only about chemistry but also about performing arts, national culture and the history of Finland.
LESSONS FOR THAILAND
Decentralisation, liberalisation and equality encapsulate the spirit of Finnish education.
However, "I want to say that it's not something you can imitate precisely as it has to be adapted to your country," said Marianne Huusko, ambassador for education export.
"Therefore, the system itself is not something that can be directly reproduced but needs to take each country's context into consideration."
For Mr Sompong, Thailand must at least make a start.
"If we want to be successful like Finland, we must get rid of the rote teaching style and intense competitiveness, because if we don't, students will only learn to cram just to pass their exams, while teachers will be working with the sole purpose of seeing their students pass those tests," he said.